Shadow Thieves Island of Skulls

Mixing elements of Harry Potter, Alex Rider, Oliver Twist and even Mission Impossible, the first in Peter Burns’ Shadow Thieves series established characters, setting and tone in a sophisticated, neatly plotted and ambitious school-for-young-spooks adventure. Book two, Island of Skulls, continues in the same vein, offering its readers another well-written story that ensures readers pay proper attention no matter how fast-moving the action. Central character, 13-year-old Tom Morgan is beginning to find his feet at Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts, thought still struggling to catch up with fellow students who have been there longer, and frequently reminded of his lowly origins by some of the less-friendly classmates. With the school under quarantine as a result of the goings-on in book one, Tom and his housemates are headed to a literal treasure island, the home of the notorious Duke of Nimes and tasked to find his loot, including a weapon rumoured to be so deadly that it terrifies even the school’s board. The search tests Tom, his friends and rivals to extraordinary degree, with more than one plot unrolling simultaneously: the search for the treasure, the testing of new friendships and alliances, and a larger conspiracy that targets all at Beaufort’s and maybe beyond. It’s genuinely gripping: like Tom, we’re not sure who we can trust, and Burns respects his readers to keep up with the intrigue at all levels.